Dear readers, the relaunched Echo has lovely acrostic poems from Ms. Jewel B. Pollard's seventh and eighth-grade students featuring Emmitt Tills' mother, Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley. Mrs. Mamie Elizabeth Till-Mobley was an American educator and activist. She was the mother of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy murdered in Mississippi on August 28, 1955, after accusations that he had whistled at a white woman, a grocery store cashier named Carolyn Bryant. Please be blessed by these beautiful, thought-provoking young people's poems of compassion, kindness, and truth from Teaneck, NJ.
(By the way children's last names have been omitted for privacy's sake.)
Ms. Jewel B. Pollard's 7th and 8th Grade Social Studies Acrostic Poems
Teaneck Community Charter School in Teaneck, New Jersey.
THE ORIGINAL MOTHER OF THE MOVEMENT: MRS. MAMIE TILL- MOBLEY
An acrostic poem by Adriana 3/20/2023
Motherhood
All over the world
Mothers
In charge of different people
Everyday
To care and to love until
Infinity
Love is
Loss
Mamie Till
Only mother to Emmett
To love him
He left
Emmett never to be seen again
Regret
On that day filled with regret and sorrow
Finish line
End of an era
Mamie or mama
Mother forever
Eternal loss
Together again
Till
An acrostic poem by Laila 3/20/2023
Mamie Till was the mother
And best friend of Emmett Till, it
Must have been really heartbreaking
It must have hurt a lot to know that because of racism there are many places some can’t go
Even so, Mamie Till kept fighting on
The day of her son’s funeral was brutal
It was so hard for her to even recognize her own son
Like the little boy laying before her was a stranger
Like she hadn’t seen that boy almost every day
Mothers, sisters, brothers, fathers, aunts, uncles and strangers came to Emmett’s funeral
On that day people were passing out left and right
Thanks to the brutal and almost unrecognizable way that Emmitt looked
His ear was cut off, his teeth were pulled out, the bridge of his nose sliced down, and his
Eye was
Rolling down his face, so
Of course people were horrified by what they saw
For even his mouth where his smile once was had been beaten and swollen
Emmett Till son of
Mamie Till
Most beloved by all
Even though, let’s pray
That they’re both happy in heaven
That much at least
An acrostic poem by Leah 3/20/2023
Mother of
A young Black
Man who experienced
Ill treatment on his trip to Mississippi which
Ended his life.
Till was accused of inappropriately touching a White woman
In a
Little store when he was buying a
Little amount of gum.
Much later, a group of men took Emmet from the home
Of which he was peacefully sleeping and
Took him away.
He was found in a River, and his torture and murder was
Even tried to be kept a secret because of how badly the
Remains of his body were.
Of course the mother of Emmet was suspicious of why her sons body was
Forcefully chosen to be put in a casket that could not be opened.
Emmett’s
Mother was determined to discover the
Mystery inside the casket and later found her sons lynched body.
Even with all the attempts Mississippi tried to hide
The lynching led to an open casket funeral for all the public to see and tell his story.
An acrostic poem by Audrey 3/20/2023
Mamie Till was born November 23,1921
Age was 81 years old when she died
Mamie Till died January 6, 2003
Is the first Black student to make the honor roll at her high school
Educator and activist
Toured with the NAACP around the country and shared her son’s story
Insisted to leave her son's casket open
Leaders inspired her
Lived in a small town
Mamie Elizebeth Till-Mobley was her full name
Obtained a masters degree in educational administration
Tried to educate people
Her son was murdered at 14 years old
Emmett Till was her son
Retired from being a teacher in 1983
Officially became an elementary teacher in 1960
Frequently advocated to fight for justice for her son
Eventually delivered speeches so the same would not happen again
Mamie was an Activist
Mississippi was her birthplace
Educator and Activist
Tried to do something after her son passed away
Truly loved poetry and tried to maintain her status as an A student always
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An acrostic poem by Jane 3/20/2023
Mother of Emmett Till,
Always remembered, born in
Mississippi.
Inspirational icon,
Educated on social issues.
The first African-American to make honor roll at her school,
Identified her son’s body in 1955, a
Loving and caring mother who
Lived in Argo, Illinois.
Married Louis Till, Emmet’s father,
Obtained a Master’s Degree,
Told that she wanted the world to see what Emmett had gone through,
Held an open-casket funeral for Emmett,
Eternal justice sought
Rest in Peace, Emmett
Objected to discrimination,
Fought for justice for her son.
Ever a remembered figure in social justice, has a
Memoir called Death of Innocence,
Memories of her son fueled her activism.
Established the Emmett Till Players, a
Theater group performing famous speeches.
Till just wanted her son to be at peace.
An acrostic poem by Osmani 3/20/2023
Mom of Emmett Till was horrified this one day
After she found out that her son was killed and left in the middle of the bay
Mad and sad she wanted to fight
In 1955, she tried to do what was right.
Everytime she knows and thinks about it, she gets creeped with fright
The Tills barely went through the night.
In 1955, Emmett was tortured and killed
Lynchings are happening still in the daylight
Loved her child and now she is sad
Mother of Emmett, she is mad.
One day something bad happened
Three weeks later at the funeral
Having to be strong beyond human belief
Everybody that is Black and even some Whites now want to fight for equal rights
Ready to march for change after what happened
Of course they killed him because of what was happening
Finally in 2003, her story was published
Emmett Till got shot in the head with a gun.
Mom still loves but she is sad
Mom is not happy because you will never be back.
Everytime things like this happen, it is bad
Today we have to start fighting back at the ballot box
Today we have to recognize Mamie Till for what she did.
An acrostic poem by Chadrine 03/20/2023
MamieTill
A loving
Mother was
Involved in a tragic experience, her son
Emmett
Till
In 1955
Lost his life over a
Little and insignificant
Moment
Only at 14 years old
This murder caused Mamie to unwillingly
Have to be part of American history
Even just whistling at a White woman, so they claim,
Risked his life
Of great potential causing many tears to
Fall
Emmett's mom
Mamie was a strong woman who went through
Many hardships and pushed through for
Emmett
Tough and
Tiring but she still lived a life of good value
An acrostic poem by Sophia 03/20/2023
Mother of a young boy named Emmett
Always has to deal with the grief of her young boy’s
Murder and death
In late-night,
Emmett was taken from his uncle's house
The young boy died from his injuries, this happened
In Mississippi.
Legal justice would not work, all of this just because of a
Lie.
Many
Others were upset
That the men did not get in trouble, Mamie has a
Hard time mentioning her son.
Everyone in Mississippi did not care about the
Racial discrimination, the Mayor
Of Drew, Mississippi wanted the body buried
First thing.
Everyday,
Mamie had to grieve
Many people to this day feel bad for Mamie and
Emmett.
This was not okay and
The young boy did not deserve to die.
